I visited L'Auberge de Sedona very early in 2009, when this long-time favorite retreat in Arizona's long-time favorite retreat town was just in the beginning phases of an extensive, $25 million renovation. This property now has 64 rooms (up from 56), between its cozy lodge and its private cottages set near wooded Oak Creek. The older cottages were given comprehensive face-lifts designed to reduce the separation between indoors and out -- there are bigger windows, expanded decks and totally private outdoor showers, the 13 new cottages include "spa cottages", designed with jacuzzi tubs.

The second phase of renovations are set to end in April 2010, and will include the addition of eighteen new cottages, set up on the hill overlooking the existing property. These cottages will have a view of Sedona's famous red rocks -- just about the only key feature that this property has lacked in its 25 year history.

We write about hotels when they enter foreclosure and its nice to see that some of them get out of it too. The W Scottsdale hotel in Arizona has announced a resolution to its battle with contractors and with its lender HSH Nordbank AG. The hotel's developer, Los Angeles-based Triyar Cos., has paid off the hotel's $82 million mortgage for an undisclosed amount. Lawsuits between Triyar, Nordbank and general contractor Hunt Construction Corp. were dropped. The Wall Street Journal reports that Triyar Chief Executive Michael Mahoney said that hotel is the first to "successfully come out of the situation with the whole project restructured without the need for bankruptcy or foreclosure." It's a pretty neat feat at a time when the number of hotels in foreclosure is reaching an unprecedented height. Details on how Triyar did it haven't been revealed but Mahoney said the developer put together money and an outside investor chipped in. The hotel remains open and has a variety of special offers available include an offer that when you stay two or three nights the second or third night will be charged at a rate equal to your birth year (for example, if you were born in 1970, your first night would be $269 but your second night is only $70).

There is such an abundance of high-quality desert golf in the greater Phoenix and Tucson areas that it can be hard to decide where to play over the course of a short visit. Here's one option that may help make Arizona snowbirds choose where to alight this winter with their clubs in tow: The soon-to-open Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain is offering an unlimited-golf package beginning December 18. Guests who take advantage of the deal can play the resort's
Jack Nicklaus–designed layout--annual host to the world's finest golfers at the Accenture Match Play Championship--from 2 p.m. the day they arrive until 7 p.m. the day they depart. The offer, which includes deluxe accommodations, starts at $399 for one player and $519 for two.

When completed, the Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain will encompass 850 acres within a spectacular saguaro forest outside Tucson. Plans call for the 250-room resort to be accompanied by a community of 400 homes. Beyond golf, activities at Dove Mountain include hiking along 20 miles of trails mapped by National Geographic and touring the rugged desert-scape by mountain bike or Jeep. There's also a state-of-the-art spa that features, among other enticements, a Vichy shower (see photo gallery) that's ideal for scrubbing off the perspiration and grit accumulated on a warm Sonoran day.

The problem with the "Extreme Makeover" homes is that while they make great television, they don't always make great living for the families that receive them. A post from Move Trends led me to the Gilbert, Arizona home of the Okvath family. The Okvath's had their home remodeled by the ABC show in 2005. The television crew outfitted the home with a movie theater, a carousel in the backyard and a bunch of colorful themed rooms for the family's seven children.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the home's escalating utility and property tax bills began to overwhelm the family. They took out a $405,000 adjustable-rate loan in 2006 but had trouble making the payments. The head of the family, Bryan Okvath lost his job, and the home was almost foreclosed on last year according to a report in the Arizona Republic. The home goes on the market at a time when the Phoenix-area market is particularly gloomy. They tried to sell back in 2007 for $1.8 million but found no takers. Now the six-bedroom home is listed at $1.3 million.

The WSJ article details a few other home makeover debacles including the story of the Hassall family who is trying to sell their made over home in Kentucky. It suffers some of the same goofball decorating as the home shown above. It is listed for $330,000.

The lack of interest in fine dining has doomed the fancy fare in Tucson. The Arizona Daily Star reports that Tucson's only five-diamond restaurant, the upscale Ventana Room at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, has closed. The restaurant had closed for the summer as it usually does but now won't reopen. The resort's public relations director said that people prefer the gourmet comfort food to dress-up dining. The elegant restaurant was on the top floor of the hotel. Earlier this year prices were reduced and the requirement that gentlemen wear coats was dropped but it was not enough to stop diners from migrating to the more casual dining experiences available at the resort.

The Ventana Room served entrees including seared New England diver scallops with salsify and artichoke barigoule, Alaskan black cod with caramelized green apple, parsnip puree and currant balsamic reduction and Australian Wagyu beef tenderloin with Tohono O'odham white tepary beans and pomegranate port reduction. The Ventana room space will be converted to high-end meeting and banquet space for parties and special events. There is now only one five-diamond restaurant open in Arizona, Kai, at the Wild Horse Pass in Chandler, Arizona.

If you like tile you'll love today's estate in Paradise Valley, Arizona. This Spanish-style home on over four acres features tile floors, tile fireplace surrounds and tile details on walls and counters. The tile is offset by adobe walls and heavy beamed ceilings. The home has five bedrooms, a family room with a tiled bar, a wine vault, large kitchen and media room. The property includes a one-bedroom guest house and pool. It is listed at $11.9 million.

Shaquille O'Neal's name doesn't seem to have done much for selling his own home but maybe his former rental will have better luck. Shaq finally sold his Miami home after it had been on the market for years getting $2 million less than he paid for it and just about half of his original $32 million asking price. A home that he rented in Paradise Valley, Arizona has gone through a deep price cut too. Both Shaquille O'Neal and Emmitt Smith did each rent this large house for a year. Shaquille O'Neal recently moved out with his family.

The five-bedroom home was built in 2002 and has approximately 8981 square feet of space. The grounds include a pool and there is a master bath that features a tub that might even have been large enough for Shaq. The home is on a two-acre lot and is located near golf courses and restaurants. The listing agent reports that the home was originally offered at $6.5 million but it can now be had for $3.6 million.

[Thanks, Mika]

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The View Hotel in Monument Valley along the Arizona-Utah border has some of the best views of the desert Southwest you will ever see. The hotel is on Navajo land in Monument Valley Tribal Park. As the Seattle Times reports, The View opened last December and is the only lodging inside the tribal park. It is run by the Ortega family, Navajos who built The View Hotel and pay a guest tax to the tribe.

Monument Valley gets less traffic than the Grand Canyon (around 300,000 visitors a year versus the millions that visit the Grand Canyon) but it has its own dazzling natural landscape that includes buttes and canyons. The View Hotel has great views of the Mittens, tall rock formations that you've likely seen as the backdrop in many movies and commercials. And then there is the night sky. The guestrooms on the third floor of the hotel are the StarView rooms which provide the best stargazing vistas. The array of stars to be seen on a clear desert night with little ambient light around to cloud the view is simply amazing. Rooms each have a flatscreen television, refrigerator, microwave and a balcony and cost around $200 a night.

Tiger Woods, just back from knee surgery, and Rory McIlroy, a teenage phenom from Northern Ireland, weren't the only ones making a high-profile return or debut on the PGA Tour this week at the Accenture Match Play Championship. The cactus-studded course on which the tournament is being played, Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain, is brand new. It's the centerpiece of a Ritz-Carlton resort and residential community in the Tucson suburb of Marana, Ariz., that's scheduled to open in the fall. The desert setting -- a saguaro forest shadowed by the Tortolita Mountains -- is picturesque. The pros may be grumbling about the slow putting surfaces on the Jack Nicklaus-designed layout (above) but certainly not the scenery.

The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain is to include a 250-room resort and 450 home sites spread across 850 acres (roughly the size of New York's Central Park). It will be the largest Ritz-Carlton project in the country. Guests will have access to 20 miles of hiking trails plus routes for mountain biking and Jeep tours. A limited number of golf vacation packages can be reserved now at www.ritzcarlton.com/dovemountain.

In terms of real estate, charter memberships bestowing special discounts on property and services are being offered to the first 25 buyers. The benefits include, among other things, up to $175,000 off the price of a pre-designed custom home; 20 percent off the cost of a custom estate home site; free membership at the golf club ($125,000 value); and tens of thousands of dollars in credits that can be applied to costs such as home upgrades, hotel and spa charges and the purchase of a "neighborhood electric vehicle." For full details, see www.theresidencesdovemountain.com.

President Obama changed things up when it came to his first hotel stay in Arizona. Presidents traditionally stay at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa in Phoenix at least once while visiting the Valley but Obama chose the new InterContinental Montelucia Resort and Spa in Paradise Valley, a resort that just happens to be already facing foreclosure. The Arizona Republic says that the resort was fully booked Tuesday night with Obama's entourage and other guests. There are two presidential suites which cost $3,000 to $4,000 per night. The Biltmore also has two presidential suites, It was also the site of John McCain's election-night concession speech. While the McCains live within walking distance of the Biltmore they were also at the Montelucia on Tuesday for a fundraiser.

What is going on in Scottsdale, Arizona? The popular warm weather destination has had its second announcement of a major resort facing foreclosure in just a few weeks. The 293-room InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa, which just opened last fall headed toward foreclosure and scheduled for disposition on April 28. It follows the W Scottsdale which was hit with a foreclosure notice a few weeks ago.

The owners of the Montelucia are, according to GlobeSt.com having troubles with a $185 million mortgage held by Eurohypo AG of Germany. The article quotes a local analyst who says that Phoenix is leading the nation in a drop in hotel occupancy rates. There is concern that other new projects which were also conceived during the boom time of 2006 could now be vulnerable. Some of these projects have loans coming due this year and next year and may have trouble finding refinancing. Both the W Scottsdale and the Montelucia are still open for business.

On Saturday, Gooding & Company is staging an impressive auction of classic and collectible cars in Scottsdale, Arizona, headlined by an extremely rare and original covered headlight 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider that could fetch up to $7 million. The car comes from the recently uncovered Van Kregten Collection (above) of more than 20 highly-prized vehicles. Ron Van Kregten, a gas station attendant who founded a very successful automotive trade school for mechanics, started collecting the cars in the early '70s. His 250 GT California Spider is one of only 54 short wheelbase examples ever built and is in pristine original condition. It's one of several Ferraris in the sale, including a 1963 250GT Lusso, est. at $700,000 - $850,000, and a 1966 275 GTS, est. at $400,000 - $500,000.

Paradise Valley Arizona real estate hits a new level of desperation with the offer of a free 2009 Bentley Continental GT with the purchase of one of two multimillion-dollar custom homes. Five Star Development will give a Bentley Continental GT starting at $198,000 to the buyer of either of two homes, one listed at $4.995 million, the other listed at $3.995 million. The listings are with George Hajjar of The Hajjar Group with Realty Executives and he promises that the realtor who sells either of the homes will also receive the Breitling Bentley GT Chronograph Steel watch (for men) that retails for $7,695 or a Cartier Pasha watch (for women) that retails for $5,150. An open house is being held two consecutive weekends in January, Jan. 10-11 and Jan. 17-18. at both homes with the Bentley GT on display.

[via KPHO]

Phoenix, Arizona's massive downtown project, CityScape is being downsized due to the economy. The $900 million development, which was announced last year, spreads over three blocks. So far, construction of more than 1,000 condos in two towers has been put on hold. Another 65 apartments have been eliminated and one of the hotels, Twelve, is out of the project. Wachovia, the anchor tenant in the project's 27-story office tower may withdraw, the P.F. Chang's restaurant chain has pulled out and businesses are wary of signing up for retail space. A 34-story tower, the future home of a 250-room Hotel Palomar and 165 condos, is still under construction. Developers are hoping that an economic rebound will be underway by the time the first shops and offices open in 2010.

This amazing home in the Sonoran desert outside of Scottsdale, Arizona was created by architect, Eddie Jones. The home has rammed earth walls and large glass windows that shocase the desert and mountain views. The home has metal roof, smooth polished concrete floors, and the warming touch of maple and cherry cabinetry and silver leaf ceiling panels.There is a master suite plus three guest bedroom suites with baths, library, separate guest house, self-contained in-laws quarters, work-out room with sauna and an eight-car, air-conditioned garage. It is listed for $6.495 million or for rent, partially furnished for $30,000/month.

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